Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1
WCAG 2.1 is the international standard for web accessibility, published by the W3C. It provides 78 success criteria across 13 guidelines organized under 4 principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. Level AA is the baseline for legal compliance worldwide.
Deadline
Published June 2018 — referenced by virtually all accessibility laws
Who it applies to
Any organization publishing web content
Required standard
Level A (minimum), Level AA (recommended), Level AAA (enhanced)
Penalties
WCAG itself is not a law — but it is referenced by ADA, Section 508, EAA, AODA, and others. Non-compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA is non-compliance with these laws.
Key Facts
- •Level A: 30 criteria — minimum baseline, must have for any accessible site
- •Level AA: 20 additional criteria — legal compliance baseline globally
- •Level AAA: 28 additional criteria — enhanced, aspirational
- •WCAG 2.2 published October 2023, adds 9 new criteria
- •WCAG 3.0 in development — conformance model changing significantly
Check your WCAG 2.1 compliance
Sturdly scans your site against all WCAG 2.1 requirements and generates a compliance report you can share with legal, procurement, or regulators.